Dordogne, France

In 2003 we decided to do something special during our summer holidays. Something we would probably not do with children. Well, with young children to be precise. A canoe-trip on the Dordogne river in Southern France was our choice.

We booked this trip via Saga Tours, a kind of travel agency for young people in Germany (we had booked two Saga ski vacations in the past - so we knew this organisation). We were a group of about 20 people. Saga arranged transport from Germany to Southern France and provided us with the canoes, a guide, food and other neccessary stuff. A typical day saw us paddling down the river, enjoying the fine weather and the beautiful villages along the riverbanks. In the afternoon we would look for a proper place for our tents (sometimes in the wilderness, sometimes at a local campsite), set up our camp, prepare our dinner (it was a self supporter trip) and go on an excursion in the evening. The schedule for the trip was not 'fixed'. Well, of course we had to reach our final destination in time, but apart from that we were masters of our time.

The 97 mile (156 km) long trip lead us from Argentat to Limeuil (one of the 149 'most beautiful villages of France'). We visited villages like La Roque-Gageac, Domme, Beynac-et-Cazenac, Carrenac, Sarlat-la-Canéda, Castelnaoud castle and the 'Grottes de Lacave'. The lower part of the trip (beginning at Souillac) is very easy whereas the upper part is a little bit more challenging. For this reason Saga set the starting point at Souillac. We finished the lower part first and then were being driven to Argentat for paddling back to Souillac again.

A lot of highlights. I loved the wonderful setting of Domme (see my review) and La Roque-Gageac (did I mention that these two are labeled as 'most beautiful', too?). The evening mood at the central place of Sarlat with all the jugglers and musicians performing was great, too.

For now I am not going to write blog entries for every single day. Perhaps later. All pictures in this blog have been connected to the same place (Souillac) and the same date. But you can easily locate the pictures by reading the caption.